Crossing bridge for railway rails



H. TOPPING.

CROSSING BRIDGE FOR RAILWAY RAILS.

APPLICATION FILED ocT. 24, I92I.

1,404,8 1 O, Patented J an. 31, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- S14/vento@ Heiz/y fog/vz' 129 HENRY Terrine, orASHLEY, rLLrnors.

CRCSSING'BRIDG FOR .RAILWAY RAILS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 31, 1922.

Application filed October 24, 1921. Serial No. 510,008.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY TorrrNG, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ashley, in the county of Vashington and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Crossing Bridgesfor Railway Rails, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention has for its object the provision of means forbridging the spaces left at the crossings of railway rails, for thepurpose of permitting the passa e of the flanges of the car wheels, andthe o ject is to provide an exceedingly simple structure, which willoperate to bridge the spaces for the tracks in either direction, whileleaving the spaces in the other direction free and unobstructed. i

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of a railwaycrossing, showing the mechanism in place therein,

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale of a pair ofthe bridge plungers and their operating means,

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view.

The railway crossing may be of any well known character, and includessets of rails, respectively designated i and 5, with the usual guards 6,leaving spaces 7 and 8 for the iianges of the car wheels. At theintersection of these spaces are mounted vertically movable plungers 9and 10, constituting bridges and so arranged that either may be raisedto the level of the rails, while the other is depressed, thereby forminga continuous trackway at the crossing in either direction, as desired. i

As shown particularly in Figures 2 and 3, each 'set of plungers ismounted in a suitable boXing 11, and is rotatably as well as verticallymovable therein. Said plungers are provided with screws 12 havingengagement with internal threads 13 formed in the boxing. The twoplungers are furthermore connected by gears 14 having keys 15 engaged inkeyways 16, one of the plungers furthermore having keyed to it a wormwheel 17 that is engaged by a worm 18 on an operating shaft 19. Two ofthese shafts 19 are provided, each operating as will be understood, on apair or set of plunger bridges, and said shafts may be operated from anysuitable source and by any desired power. Thus in the present embodimentthey are shown as geared at 20 to a main shaft 21 that may be extendedto operating means in a tower or the like.

lVith this construction, it will be evident that if the main shaft 21 isrotated in one direction, each of the plungers, as 9, will be elevatedto form a continuous trackway in one direction, while the others aredepressed. The car wheels will thus pass over the crossing without shockor jar and without obstruction. Vhen a train is to pass at right anglesit is only necessary to rotate the shaft 21 in the opposite direction,whereupon the other set of plungers will be elevated while the rst setwill be depressed.

From the foregoing, it is thought that the construction, operation andmany advantages of the herein described invention will be apparent tothose skilled in the art, with- .out further description, and it will beunderstood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion and minordetails of construction may be resorted to without departing from thespirit or sacriiicing any of the advantages ofthe invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with crossedrailway rails having iiange-receivingspaces at their crossing points, of vertically movable plungers forbridging the spaces, threaded mountings for the plungers, and means forsimultaneously moving the plungers in opposite directions.

2. rIhe combination with crossed railway rails having flange-receivingspaces at their crossing points, of vertically movable plungers forbridging the spaces, threaded mountings in which the plungers areadjustably screwed, and means for simultaneously effecting a, relativerotation between the plungers and their mountings to eEect the movementsof said plungers in opposite directions.

3. The combination with crossed railway rails having iiange-receivingspaces at their crossing points, of vertically movable plungers forbridging the spaces, threaded mountings in which the plungers arerotatably screwed, gearing connecting the plungers for rotating them inopposite directions, and means for eifecting their rotation.

4. The combination with crossed railway rails, having flange-receivingspacesa at their crossing points, of vertically movable plungers forbridging the spaces, threaded In testimony whereof, I affix my signaturemountings l which the plungers are rlotan the presence of two Witnesses.

tabl sorewe, rearing connectno' the p un- Y gersy for rotatlg them inoppste drec- HENRY TOPPING' tions, a Wonu Wheel on one of the plungers,1Witnesses:

and an actuating shaft having a Worm mesh- C. H. BROWN,

ing with the Worm Wheel. JOHN HoLRooK.

